Stags sign sought-after shot-stopper

Mansfield Town are delighted to announce their first signing of the summer with the impressive acquisition of goalkeeper Conrad Logan.

The Stags have won the race to sign the ex-Rochdale goalkeeper, and beat a host of clubs in League One and two clubs in the Scottish Premier League.

The management team at One Call Stadium have worked hard to secure the services of the former Leicester City player, who put pen to paper in north Nottinghamshire this afternoon.

During a 10-year spell with the Foxes after moving to England, the Irishman enjoyed a loan stint with then-League Two club Stockport County, amongst others, where he won promotion via the play-offs.

County beat local rivals, and Logan's future club, Rochdale 3-2 at Wembley as the shot-stopper capped off a fine season in his first loan spell with the North West club.

After leaving Leicester in 2015, the ‘keeper made the switch to Hibernian for the last two months of the 2015/16 season and quickly wrote himself into the Scottish club’s folklore.

Logan’s debut for the Edinburgh-based side was the semi-final of the Scottish Cup against Dundee United. The match finished 0-0 after extra time and Hibs progressed to the final after a 4-2 penalty shoot-out win – which included a string of brilliant stops and two penalty saves by the new Stags’ goalkeeper.

The penalty shoot-out heroics followed a stellar performance over 120 minutes at Hampden Park, during which he made a number of excellent saves to keep the game goalless.

Following his incredible debut, Logan kept his place for the rest of the season and played in Hibs’ 3-2 win over Rangers in the final of the Scottish Cup, the Hibees’ first victory of the competition in 114 years.

The Irishman left Hibs at the end of the season and joined League One side Rochdale, where he quickly became their number one.

He became a stalwart of a strong Dale side who were chasing a spot in the League One play-offs throughout the campaign.

Logan kept 10 clean sheets in 30 appearances for the Greater Manchester side last season, helping them to a ninth-place finish.

Speaking exclusively to www.mansfieldtown.net, Logan said: “I’m excited at the prospect of playing here. It’s a good club with massive ambitions and I’m raring to get going.

"It’s a drop in division [but] hopefully it’s only for a year because this is a club that’s striving for promotion. Once I spoke to the manager and weighed things up, the decision was quite easy and I’m happy that I’ve made the move."

After a hectic few days for manager Steve Evans, www.mansfieldtown.net briefly caught up with the Stags’ gaffer before he left One Call Stadium to meet an intended player target.

“There is no doubt, for me, that Conrad Logan has played a major part, along with, it has to be said, a number of top class Rochdale players in a season that allowed them to go to the last day in their pursuit of the play-offs,” said Steve.

“I watched Rochdale on at least three occasions myself - and Paul Raynor on two separate occasions – since the turn of the year and it’s fair to say that Conrad Logan has been top class.

“He will come in to the football club determined to help us enjoy a good season. He will work hard and the one thing I know is I will get someone who’s got a consistent track record of being able to keep the ball out of the net – that’s his job.”

The deal will commence from 01 July and is subject to EFL ratification.